Poor Marilyn Monroe – desperate to be taken seriously as an actress yet held captive by the male fantasy stereotype she created to find fame. Like a candle in the wind, indeed.
 
Greg Thompson has written a biopic for the stage, from her childhood to premature death.  For those like me who knew little beyond the highly publicised facts – her blonde beauty, fragility, breathless voice, overwhelming sexuality, film roles, failed marriages – this fills in many of the

Sunny Thompson is gorgeous and moving as the mercurial Marilyn, deserving of the many praises heaped upon her by American critics. She captures Monroe’s many conflicts – her vulnerability and realisation that sleeping her way to the top was part of the fame game, her childish naivety and unnerving self-awareness.

Thompson is the part too, looking amazing in the jaw-dropping costumes.

The script is based on Monroe’s own words, and that’s fascinating in its own right. Because behind the dumb blonde was a woman who knew her strengths and limitations, who could quote Yeats, and who yearned be taken seriously as an actress and was prepared to work hard to achieve that.

There is just a bit too much script and music crammed into the first half of this solo show, which is slow to start and to build.  The dazzling white set is scrunched into the Downstage space.  But these aren’t capital offences in a production performed so charmingly.

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Norma Jean Baker/Marilyn Monroe was, as it turns out, a marketing genius. She created one of the world’s most astounding, captivating and lasting brands.

That Andy Warhol coloured print of Monroe, lips open in half-pout half-smile, eyes almost asleep, ears heavy with diamonds, is probably more recognisable to us than the flags of most African countries. The image of her clutching coyly at her white dress as the wind from a sewer grate lifts it, or the sound of her childish voice singing Happy Birthday to JFK, are iconic – today they feel nostalgic, they’re something to do with a lost golden era in Hollywood, a lost innocence in America.

But here’s the deal: Monroe was a brand. The very character was a carefully constructed personality Norma Jean Monroe took great care in creating, maintaining and selling. She was by many accounts an incredibly intelligent, quick witted and self aware woman. So is it strange that Marilyn, Forever Blonde is told, not by Norma Jean, but by Monroe? Here it is the character of Monroe who narrates Monroe’s life, her various affairs, her desire to be famous (and the subsequent desire to be ordinary) her disappointments, and her death. In fact the production is delivered using words Marilyn said herself (half the fun for devout Monroeites might be recognising their favourite quotes as they flash up in the re-contextualised world of Greg Thompson’s script).

The audience is never outside of Monroe-as-brand; all the tragedies of her personal life are delivered using her public persona. Sunny Thompson, star of the one woman show, is playing Monroe the actress as much as she is playing the historical truth of her personality. All of this raises questions about how we as a viewing public could ever separate the persona of Marilyn from her reality. In this sense it is not a show that goes behind Marilyn and looks for some kind of "authentic" woman. Instead what this show does, very successfully, is deepen our relationship with the brand of a woman who famously thanked whoever the man was who gave us high heels.

The show takes place in the intimate setting of Monroe’s bedroom and apartment. Fantastically lit using, in part, the rig of a professional photography studio, the centre of the white set is a double bed, covered in white silk sheets. It’s appropriate given Monroe’s status as a sex symbol. It sets up the space as alluring, as a "behind the scenes" look, although all at once we’re aware that as part bed, part scene of a photo-shoot, we are never really allowed behind the scenes. Even the set’s fake bathtub is drawn attention to as Monroe ends a scene by climbing unexpectedly out of the tub fully clothed, glass of champagne in hand, and turning to the audience to announce "well, it’s fake you know".

This show rests, of course, on Sunny Thompson’s ability to inhabit her role, and consistently maintain its energy. But the subtle aspect of her performance, the note that gives the show a necessary depth, is really her deft handling of inconsistency. With the help of her husband’s script Sunny drifts from the young, excited, ambitious character of Monroe’s earliest marriage (at just sixteen, and to avoid going to the tenth in a series of foster homes), to the lonely Monroe of three divorces; she shifts between the girl who happily utilises her sexuality to get castings and contracts, and the woman who understands that she has made herself a toy, that she has no choice but to be sexy, that she is defined by, and has succeeded because of, sex, and not talent.

The Monroe of the final scene, unable to have children, and aware that over time her looks will fade, is miles away from the woman who occupied the stage when the lights went up on scene one. Gradually the clicking of photographer flashes becomes tiresome, as do the poses. The songs slow down. The audience realises that this is where Monroe is most exposed, a brand in crisis, risking wash-up. For a moment Monroe is almost a real woman. Then, predictably, she dies. She dies before reality can catch her. Some people will have you believe that the Kennedy’s had her poisoned. It will surely baste the proverbial turkey of any Monroe fan.  Most importantly, though, the show leaves "Marilyn" almost untouched, a little softer, a little tragic, an iconic pioneer of the appalling indulgence and stupidity and wonder of Hollywood stardom.
  

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"I’ve never met anyone as utterly mean as Marilyn Monroe. Nor as utterly fabulous on the screen. And that includes Garbo," said Billy Wilder.

"She’s not only different, she’s smart," said Jack Lemmon of Marilyn.

"A short way into filming, my humiliation had reached such depths I would not have believed possible," said Laurence Olivier on directing her.

Greg Thompson’s two act solo play with music Marilyn: Forever Blonde! is told in her own words taken from interviews, newsreels, and recorded comments. His script, however, is a one-dimensional account of Marilyn’s unhappy life and reveals little that most film buffs won’t already know.

Her personal life as well as the iniquities of the studios, the pitfalls of fame and the loneliness of the stars in the heavens and those on earth (a brief scene designed to tug at the heart strings) are all dealt with frankly and occasional moments of humour.

"Being a movie star was never as much fun as dreaming of being one," she says wistfully near the end as she sits at her dressing table wiping off her make-up to reveal the lonely, exploited woman behind the star image we all know so well.

It desperately needs to be energized by insights such as the three quoted at the beginning, so that we get a different perspective from the all too familiar "I could have any man but no one wanted the real me" or "I want to be respected as an actress," or  "I started as a dumb blonde whore. I’ll end as one."

The irony is that while she said she just wanted to be wonderful she doubted if she ever was or ever could be, she was wonderful when Hollywood provided her with material that allowed her to shine within her, admittedly narrow, range of comedy in such films as Bus Stop, How To Marry a Millionaire, The Seven Year Itch and, of course, Some Like It Hot. 

And the saving grace of Marilyn: Forever Blonde! is the wonderful performance of Sunny Thompson who uncannily captures Marilyn’s breathy, baby voice, her impish humour, her gurgling laugh, her famous undulating walk, her sexy postures and her enjoyment of her femininity. 

It’s a complete performance: at its most moving when she sings I’m through with love with an unnerving depth and at its most dynamic when she finishes the first half with a rousing Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.

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This is a place-holder for the Wellington Season, so that other reviews can be added. My invitation to review this production was withdrawn. Here’s what happened:

Stewart (Stetson Group, the NZ producer) forwarded an email from Greg (writer / US producer), who regarded Kate’s review of the Auckland season as "cheap shots". Stewart called the review "unkind" and claimed it had "caused considerable angst amongst the company, and the Bruce Mason Centre management". 

We pointed out that they were very welcome to post their views as Comments or even start a Forum about it. To date they have not availed themselves of this opportunity. The point was also made that Theatreview routinely publishes a wide range of views and opinions and therefore claims no "sanctity of the press"; the whole site operates as an open conversation.

I went on to express my full support for Kate’s review, thus: "[It] reflects the possible hopes and expectations of many for whom [Marilyn Monroe] remains an enigma, and who may come to the show hoping for/expecting some insight into the unanswered questions. That she (and the Herald reviewer, as it happens) suggests it’s best not to come with that expectation is certainly part of the service we should provide to theatre-goers. As I read the review(s), those happy to spend time with the MM we already know will clearly not be disappointed and are likely to be impressed."

I also said they were welcome to withdraw their invitation for me to review the Downstage season, whereupon Stewart emailed: "Greg has asked me to advise that he is pleased to accept your offer to NOT review the play in Wellington." In acknowledging this I added I would have to come up with, "some way of explaining to Theatreviewers why we are not covering the Wellington season, as many rely on the site to tell/remind them what is on." Hence this piece.

When I conveyed my wish to purchase one of the returned comps, so that I would be better informed as to the nature of the show, the Stetson producers offered it as a comp on the understanding I would not be reviewing it (which is a shame because for all its self-imposed limitations, it does include an exquisite performance).

The reviews of Laurie (Dominion Post) , Lynn (Capital Times) and any others (e.g. Lumiere Reader) will be added to this ‘place holder’ once they have been published in their own domains.

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Marilyn: Forever Blonde makes you wish for a happy ending for poor, lonely Norma Jean. Using the actress’s own words to tell her life story, the show leaves you in no doubt that while she had fame and fortune, Marilyn Monroe was really searching for love and acceptance.

Written by Greg Thompson, the play is an extended flashback that tells the story of Monroe’s life from orphanage to movie stardom, celebrity then early death. While shying away from any conjecture about whether Monroe was murdered or committed suicide, the show doesn’t whitewash other aspects of her life, including [More] 

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While both die-hard Marilyn fans and those with a mere passing interest will walk away reminded of her beauty, sex appeal and ‘Hollywood Nous’, anyone hoping for a fresh insight or perspective on her journey and death will come away empty handed.

Much of the publicity surrounding Sunny Thompson’s committed performance in this one-woman show has positively stressed that the script is based "entirely from the actual words of Marilyn", yet is the play’s weakest link.

Statements to the press of the day, interviews, comments to colleagues and notables, would have been consciously or sub consciously filtered. It is not the stuff of emotional depth and inner truth. Writer Greg Thompson’s dialogue is full of Monroe’s predictable universal statements about loneliness, fame, acceptance, acting, love and marriage. But Thompson doesn’t take them anywhere new. He doesn’t explore the person inside Marilyn – what her motivations might have been, beyond her desire "to be wonderful." The script doesn’t allow enough self-awareness to even ask the question – was she simply just another sell-out? All we see and hear is an impersonation of what we knew already.

Marilyn: Forever Blonde is a performed chronology of her men, studios and songs – information you could just as easily find on YouTube and Wikipedia. Perhaps if Greg Thompson had started with a blank page and added bold artistic licence, the end result might have been more engaging, even gripping.

For example, the opportunity to explore the JFK relationship is missed. She was a liability to the Kennedy’s, given the conservative nature of the US electorate; yet Thompson shies away from any conspiracy theories, murder plots or meaty inferences. He doesn’t even take a stab at why she was so famously late arriving on stage to sing "Happy birthday, Mr President". Some imaginative licence could make all the difference here.

With a thin script, the delivery of magic rests on the shoulders of the writer’s wife, Sunny Thompson. Her craft is thorough, her intonation, baby talk, walk and mannerisms are all impressive and her delivery mostly smooth. Just as Marilyn Monroe was designed and packaged a certain way at all times for public consumption, so too is Sunny Thompson – she neither disappoints or falters. The opening night audience was very appreciative of her performance and I heard only positive adjectives exchanged in the foyer.

Director Stephanie Shine takes an authentic, safe approach with both her leading lady and her creative team. While slow to start, once underway, the evening takes on a pace and gloss of its own. Though occasionally, the acapella snippets of song drag. And not even Scott Farrell’s tidy pre-recorded musical arrangement was enough to justify the full treatment of ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend’.  Sunny Thompson captures Marilyn’s light breathy singing style to perfection, yet only achieves emotional punch when she allows her own vocal craft to shape the heart-felt ‘I’m Through With Love’.

Jason Phillip’s white linear set is inspired by the famous 1962 "Marilyn In Bed" photo session with Douglas Kirkland. At times it evokes the illusion of pure domestic affluence, at other times, it looks like a silken den for soft porn.

Regrettably lighting designer Woody Woodburn’s pedantic, distracting and excessive cross fades between the four different ‘rooms’, is anything but dynamic.

Marilyn’s always been a bit of an enigma – and Marilyn: Forever Blonde makes sure she remains so. Perhaps it was silly to expect anything more than something "wonderful", but ultimately one-dimensional, to look at.  
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